桑

桒

sāng

叒 + 木

Definitions

sāng (noun) mulberry tree

Etymology

Depicts the leaves of a mulberry tree (木). The leaves from a mulberry tree were the food silkworms would eat.

About

The mulberry tree, whose leaves were the essential food of silkworms, underpinned the silk economy. The character 桑 was originally a pictograph: a cluster of leaves and branches drawn above the tree radical 木, capturing the tree's distinctive appearance. In modern writing, the upper portion has been simplified to three 又, retaining the image of lush foliage while 木 continues to anchor the meaning in a tree. 桑 thus refers to the mulberry tree, its wood, the practice of raising silkworms, and the mulberry orchards cultivated for this purpose.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我家有一棵桑树。

Wǒ jiā yǒu yī kē sāng shù.

My family has a mulberry tree.

桑叶可以用来喂蚕。

Sāng yè kě yǐ yòng lái wèi cán.

Mulberry leaves can be used to feed silkworms.

桑葚的味道很甜美。

Sāng shèn de wèi dào hěn tián měi.

Mulberries taste very sweet.

孩子们在桑树下玩耍。

Háizi men zài sāng shù xià wánshuǎ.

The children are playing under the mulberry tree.

这家酒店的桑拿设施很齐全。

Zhè jiā jiǔdiàn de sāng ná shèshī hěn qíquán.

This hotel's sauna facilities are very complete.

农民们正在采摘桑叶。

Nóngmín men zhèngzài cǎizhāi sāng yè.

The farmers are picking mulberry leaves.

桑树的生长需要充足的阳光。

Sāng shù de shēngzhǎng xūyào chōngzú de yángguāng.

The growth of mulberry trees requires ample sunlight.

在古代，桑蚕业非常重要。

Zài gǔdài, sāng cán yè fēicháng zhòngyào.

In ancient times, the sericulture industry was very important.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 叒

Component: 木

桑